Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 225

On Fridays I share articles/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my way.

Things Glen Found Interesting

Meet the Minnie Church (Ted Olsen, Christianity Today): “Cast Member Church is truly a church for Disney Cast Members. It’s not a church to attend on vacation. It’s not a church for Disney fans in Central Florida. It’s a church for a certain kind of employee from one company…. Walt Disney World has almost 70,000 employees—a population about the size of Canton, Ohio. It’s the largest single-site employer in the country. At 40 square miles, it’s about as big as Miami or San Francisco.” I did not think I would find this article interesting, but it’s thorough and explores some unexpected angles.

Did Emma Sulkowicz Get Redpilled? At the very least, she’s found a new social set. (Sylvie McNamara, The Cut): “Sulkowicz is telling me about the “political journey” she’s lately been on, a listening tour of ideological positions that she’s always considered too right-wing to engage: centrists, conservatives, libertarians, and whatever Jordan Peterson is — various and sundry souls that Jezebelhas canceled, whose names chill dinner conversation across progressive New York. Sulkowicz hasn’t been redpilled; she’s still a feminist and an advocate for survivors of sexual assault. What’s changed is her posture.“ This article was fun to read and full of surprises.

Have 1 in 5 Americans Been in a Consensual Non-Monogamous Relationship? (Charles Fain Lehman, Institute For Family Studies): “In promoting the show, the network tweeted out the eye-catching claim that ‘1 in 5 Americans have been involved in a consensually non-monogamous relationship at some point in their life.’ CBS is far from the only outlet to push the ‘one in five’ claim: it’s appeared in Rolling Stone, Quartz (as cited by NPR), Time, Men’s Health, and Psychology Today, among others. Where does that number come from?”

The Global Protest Wave, Explained (Max Fisher and Amanda Taub, New York Times): “Only 20 years ago, 70 percent of protests demanding systemic political change got it — a figure that had been growing steadily since the 1950s. In the mid-2000s, that trend suddenly reversed. Worldwide, protesters’ success rate has since plummeted to only 30 percent, according to a study by Erica Chenoweth, a Harvard University political scientist who called the decline ‘staggering.’”

And if you haven’t heard Kanye West is now professing Christ and people have opinions.

Kanye West Airpool Karaoke (The Late Late Show with James Corden, YouTube): first some thoughts from the man himself, 20 minutes. Recommended by a student.

‘Jesus Is King’ and Kanye West is a tax collector (Esau McCaulley, Washington Post): “As an African American Christian trying to make sense of West’s decisions, I have repeatedly reflected on the stories of Jesus eating with tax collectors that upset many of his contemporaries.” The author is a professor at Wheaton. Recommended by an alumnus.

Yeezus Follows Jesus (Nic Rowan, First Things): “I’m good with it. After all, perfectly nice people don’t become saints. God tends to prefer working with jackasses.”

Kanye West’s Conversion Could Be a Cultural Wrecking Ball (Andrew Walker, National Review): “The Apostle Paul warns in the New Testament about vesting too much hope and confidence in new converts, fearing they would be puffed up with pride (something, let’s be honest, Kanye has no problem exuding). We need to let Kanye be a Christian Kanye without making him into a Christian celebrity.”

11 Places Where Persecuted Christians Need Our Prayers (Megan Fowler, Christianity Today): “Over 245 million Christians live in the 50 countries ranked on the World Watch List as worst for Christians. Between November 2017 and October 2018, 4,136 Christians were killed for their faith in these countries, over 1,266 churches or Christian buildings were attacked, and 2,625 believers were detained, arrested, sentenced, or imprisoned — many of them without a trial.”

Why Do You Send This Email?

In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.

Disclaimer

Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey’s agenda and we are not about the elephant’s agenda — we are about the Lamb’s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass the ideological Turing test and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say “I agree” or “I disagree” until I can say “I understand”) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I’ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.
Also, remember that I’m not reporting news — I’m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There’s a lot happening in the world that’s not making an appearance here because I haven’t found stimulating articles written about it.
If this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up here. You can also view the archives.